The Good Left Undone(28)

Paolo had taken off his shirt and shoes. His black curls were in need of a cut, and his beard was coming in, even though he had shaved that morning. There was a glass of wine on the coffee table.

“Nonna made your favorite pasta.” She placed the leftovers on the table.

“I’m starving. Thanks, babe.”

“I knew you wouldn’t eat at the café. I wish you would’ve come to celebrate Nonna’s birthday.”

“I couldn’t get out of the meeting.”

“I know. They like to see you once in a while, that’s all.”

“I’ll drop by and say hello when I’m in the village.”

“That would be nice.” Anina doubted Paolo would make a special trip to see her grandmother. Viareggio was out of the way. Anina turned to go.

“Where are you going?” Paolo took her hand and pulled her onto his lap. “Is there something wrong?”

“You’re watching a game.”

Paolo turned off the television set. “What can I do?”

“I don’t know.” Anina rested her head on his shoulder.

“Are we okay?”

“Yes.”

“So why the weird mood?”

“I don’t know.”

“Your mother?” Paolo made a face.

Anina laughed. “We’re getting along great.”

“That’s because we’re getting married. Your mother doesn’t like that we live together.”

“I don’t think that’s it.”

“It’s me then. They’re worried. Once I get a job, they’ll all be happy.”

“You might be right. How’s it going?”

“Getting close.” Paolo grinned. “We might have to move to Roma. What do you think?”

“Wherever you get a job, we will live,” she assured him. “Papa said you can always put in your application for civil service. Giacomo is happy working for the carabinieri.”

“I don’t want to work with my future father-in-law and brother-in-law. I don’t want to be a cop.”

“Giacomo wasn’t sure about it either, and now he likes it.”

“Good for him.”

“Okay, let’s drop it.” Anina reached out and stabbed a few orecchiette onto the fork. She fed Paolo the bite of pasta. “Good?”

“Your grandmother might be mean, but she can cook.” Paolo kissed her.

“She’s not mean. She has high standards. That’s all.”

Paolo had told his parents when he moved into Anina’s apartment. She had not told her parents, not at first. Anina had not wanted to put her mother in an awkward position with Matelda. When she finally told her parents, Nicolina said, “Don’t say anything to your grandmother. It would kill her.”

Paolo had taken temporary positions since he graduated from college. He wanted to work with a sports agency, but those jobs were scarce. Now that he was engaged, he took the permanent job hunt seriously. There were so many things Anina loved about Paolo. He made her laugh. They came from similar backgrounds. Maybe he wasn’t as ambitious as some young men, but Anina appreciated that he put living a happy life above a material one. After all, he had volunteered at an animal rescue in Viareggio when there was an oil spill off the coast. Paolo had a good heart.

“Sometimes you look at me as though you have no idea who I am,” he said.

“Do I?”

“Like you’re sizing me up.”

“I’ve already done that. You passed.”

Paolo scooped Anina up in his arms. He carried her down the narrow hallway to their bedroom in the back of the apartment, covering her with kisses as they went. For Paolo, the small room with the bed that hugged the walls on either side of it was as vast as a field of sunflowers. He would stay there with Anina forever, if it were up to him. He gently placed her on the bed. He kissed her hands, her neck, and her lips. His body covered hers as she pulled the coverlet over him. When they made love, they solved all their problems without saying a word.

Paolo fell asleep wrapped around her. Anina lay awake, her fingers laced through his. She found the tiny bedroom confining. The poster of a beach in Montenegro did not make the room seem larger, as promised in a magazine article. The only way out of the claustrophobic feeling was to dream. She pictured a house by the sea. Their bedroom would be large and white, with a deep feather bed and many windows, which she would leave open. The sound of the surf would lull them to sleep at night, and in the morning, the reflection of the sun on the water would wake them. Somehow she had to make Paolo see her dream. She loved him but had to find the key to his ambition. Paolo pulled her closer as he slept. No one lived on love, and plenty survived without it, but she did not want to be one of them.


VIAREGGIO

Matelda sat on her bed with her earbuds in her ears. She removed one and looked over at Olimpio, who was in bed scrolling through the emails on his phone.

“You won’t believe this. Nino recorded what he could remember of the elephant story.”

“You’re kidding. He knew how? I had to show him how to clear his voice messages when he was here.”

“Patrizia helped him record it. Do you want to listen?”

“You go ahead and tell me later.”